Supplying ink to ink transfer members



March 23, 1937. PELTON 2,074,970

SUPPLYING INK TO INK TRANSFER MEMBERS Filed Sept. 19, 1932 2Sheets-Sheet l March 23, 1937.. G. E. PELTON SUPPLYING INK TO INKTRANSFER MEMBERS Filed Sept. 19, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 23,1937 SUPPLYING INK TO INK TRAN SFER MEMBERS George E. Pelton,Alexandria, Va. Application September 19, 1932, Serial No. 633,874

34 Claims.

This invention relates to typing machines, and particularly tomeans forsupplying ink to the writing ribbons or transfer members of suchmachines while in u e, by means of an ink carrying or supply ribbon.'The term ink is hereinafter used to designate any transfer material formaking marks or letters.

In my Patent No. 1,826,568 an ink absorbent supply ribbon, whichinterwinds with the writing ribbonand thereby transfers ink to said'writing ribbon is shown; in my copending application Serial No. 588,932,filed January 26, 1932,

'a width substantially non-ink-absorbentink supply ribbon whichinterwinds with the writing ribbon, is shown. The present inventionrelates to improvements in what is shown in said patent. andsaidapplication and this application is a continuation in part of mysaid application Serial No. 588,932.

An object of this invention is to provide a writing ribbon which is asmuch as forty yards in length and which does not interwind with the inksupply ribbon.

Another object is to provide an ink supply ribbon which is notinterwound with the writing ribbon, thereby permitting the writingribbon to occupy all of the space of the typing machine spools, saidspools, being standard size or being larger than standard size, evenlarge enough to accommodate forty yards of writing ribbon.

' Another object is, to eliminate the necessity for using two ribbonsinterwound on the same spool or spools such as used in the abovementioned patent and application; also to make it much simpler andeasier and quicker to remove the writing ribbon and torewind it with itsbottom edge placed above in the machine and on the spools so that theunused bottom edge may be used for another long period equal to thefirst 40 period of use of the first edge. This, of course,

is limited to solid color ribbons. It is not customary at present toturn over the solid color ribbons so as to bring the lower edge aboveand so as to furnish-new, unused fabric in the portion or line of theribbon where the type contact: Since the present invention utilizes thefun space of the spool (which is utilized in said patent .and saidcopending application forthe writing ribbon and ink supply ribbon whichare interwound on the said spool) just for the writing ribbon alone, itis self-evident that there is a vastly longer writingwibbon which meansincreased writing from the first edge and also from 55 the bottom edgeof the ribbon and which totals a tremendous increase in quantity ofwork, and

all from the same ribbon.

Another object is to simplify the placing or the new ribbon in themachine; also another ob- .ject is to provide an ink supply ribbon whichis 5 put into position at the factory at the time the typing machine orprinting mechanism is built and to provide an ink supply ribbon whichwill last as long as the machine itself and which will not requirerenewal by a service man at 10 the time he renews the writing ribbon;also to make it a very simple, quick, easy matter to renew the writingribbon; also. to provide method and means whereby, the writing ribbon islargely, if m not entirely, independent of the ink supply rib- 15 bon;also to provide method and means whereby the writing ribbon alone, as itwinds up alone on the spool, decides the speed of travel of the spoolsand thereby also controls the speed at which *it travels through theribbon, vibrator as it dis- '-penses ink in-its travel from one spool tothe other back and forth day in and day out during its entire life.Another object is to overcome the many detail dimculties incident toemploying two ribbons 25 fastened toand interwound on the same spools,including the difliculties connected with reversing, when the end of thewriting ribbon has been reached, without having the type contact severaltimes in the same place on the writing ribbon 3 thereby producing a wornplace in the fabric of said writing ribbon before the spool picks up andbegins winding said ribbon in the opposite direction.

Another object is to provide an ink supply rib-. 5 bon in the form pf anendless belt which will transfer ink uniformly and evenly andin suitablequantities to exactly replenish the amount of ink dispensed by thewritingribbon; and to secure such even, uniform replenishment of the 4ink supply of the writing ribbon during operationof the typing machinefor fine correspondence in commercial and professional ofilces, it I isabsolutely essential to feed the ink'from the" reservoir by appropriatemeans to a substantially 45 non-ink-absorptive surface of said .supplyribbon.

' Another object of this invention isto simplify the feeding of ink to awriting ribbon and to accurately control the rate at which ink is fed tor a writing-ribbon, also to make it possible too inking means in whichan endless auxiliary inking member or belt or supply ribbon is employedto transfer ink to the writing ribbon.

Fig. 2 is an elevation taken approximately on the line -5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of another form of inking means using an auxiliaryinking belt or supply ribbon for transferring ink to the writing ribbon.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of av form of inking means whereby a long inksupply ribbon is employed but which does not interwind on the writingribbon spools with the writing ribbon but winds up on smaller spoolswhich are turned by the writing ribbon spools.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of another form of inking means using a long inksupply ribbon and supplying-ink to an intermediate member which in turntransfers said ink to the writing ribbon.

Fig. 6 shows guide channels for guiding the endless ribbon.

This invention may be applied to a typewriter, cash register, addingmachine or type mechanism of any kind using a writing ribbon or otherink transfer member.

In the accompanying drawings, for the purpose of illustrating anembodiment of my invention, it is shown as applied to a typewritingmachine having a frame Ill and a platen II, which carriesthe paper orother material upon which the writing is done. I! and I3 represent theusual ribbon spools upon which the writing ribbon l4 may be wound andunwound during the use of the typewriter. The ribbon in passing from onespool to the other passes through the usual ribbon guide or vibrator I5,and moves in the vibrator into and out of the writing position in whichthe writing ribbons face is struck by or contacted by the type. Anyother means for using the ribbon to transfer ink therefrom to a writingsurface may be employed.

In accordance with my improved method of supplying ink to asubstantially non-absorbent .ink supply ribbon of any kind, I provide astationary wick which may extend into an ink reservoir and which maysupply ink to a rotary inking member which isin direct or indirectcontact with the thin edge portion of a rotatable 1 member. Said thinedge portion can receive only a very limited amount of ink proportionalto the thickness of the edge of said rotatable member. At one portion ofthe circular path of-movement of the said thin edge of said rotatablemember,

ink is applied to the edge, and at another por ,tion of the path ofmovement. of this edge, the

ink is removed from this rotatable member and applied either directly tothe face of an endless belt, or endless ink supply ribbon. The ink mayalso be applied to said thin edge of the 65 vent the wick from beinginjured or cut by the thin edge of .the rotary .member (in case the thinedge contacts directly with a wick or capillary member) it is preferableto have the wick of cylindrical form and rotating at the same pe- Thisinsures a uniform deposit of ink on the edge of the rotary member, inthat the portion of this member contacting with the wick applies veryslight pressure thereto and receives rotary member by having this thinedge conripheral speed as the edge of the rotar'ymember.

from said wick asmall amount of ink which is deposited on the edge ofthe rotary member. It may be desirable, however, to use a stationarywick and to have the ink fed to the edge portion of said rotary memberfrom an inking roller which in turn is inked by contact (rolling contactmay be desirable) with a wick. The rotary members may receive theirrotation directly or indirectly from the'inovement of the writing ribbonspools or other spools or from an endless belt or ink supply member.

In order to have the largest possible amount of even, uniform writingduring the life of the fabric of the writing ribbon, I may use spoolsfor the writing ribbon which are large enough to accommodate a writingribbon forty yards in length and not over .0035 of an inch in thickness.The present invention, in its various forms, utilizes improved inkingmeans and ink supply belts or ribbons, but it does notuse the large'machine spools for winding any ink supplymembers in with the writingribbon on the same spool and it has the great advantage of the use of anink supply ribbon without the disadvantages incident thereto such ashaving to furnish space on the ribbon spools for interwindlng thewriting ribbon with the ink supply ribbon and also the disadvantagesincident to changing ribbons or reversing ribbons or turning the bottomedge up for use in writing.

In the forms of inking means of the present invention, when the typingmachine is not in use, as for example at night, the thin edge portion ofthe disk 30 will, of course, transfer no ink, and consequently ink willonly be supplied to the writing ribbon H from the ink supply ribbon asink is dispensed from said ribbon I land as it is needed to keep the inkcontent of the said ribbon I4 uniform and constant.

' In Fig. 1 is illustrated an arrangement, whereby ink may betransferred directly to an endless belt or endless ink supply ribbon 20for transfer to a surface of the writing ribbon I. In this set-up, I,have the inking apparatus and one end of said stationary wick located ontop of the central portion of reservoir 22. In'Flg. 1 only one rotarymember or inking wheel contacts with the end of said stationary wick forsupplying a line or lines of ink upon the thin edge portion or peripheryof a rotary disk member, and also in Fig. 1 my thin edge transfers inkin the form 'of a line or lines to a portion of a face of said endlessinking belt. Said endless inking belt orink supply ribbon 20 may beconstructed with-a series of perforations 42 which may extend along eachedge of said endless belt or ink supply ribbon or may extend in one rowonly -'equidistant apart for "belt or supply ribbon when they contactdirectly for the transfer of ink from the surface the teeth of the smallrollers are marked 40a.

When we insert a clean, new ink belt or supply ribbon into the machineanda new writing ribbon ll begins winding on spool 12 as the machine isoperated ink' is placed on an outer 7 med Jan. 26, 1932, and Serial No.629,078, filed face of said belt or ribbon 2n and as the writing ribbonwinds into spool l2, if said spool i2 winds counter-clockwise, thesupply ribbon or belt 20 will move from the inking apparatus over 5towards spool l2 and a's'the ribbons contact at post 45 on the left, thewriting ribbon M will receive ink from said belt or supply ribbon 20'just before said writing ribbon is wound upon the spool 12 and saidribbon 20 will travel from said post 45 across and over to the spool atthe right of the machine and around back and again be inked by theinking mechanism'lo- I cated in the central portion of the upper part'of the machine directly over the central por- 15 tion of the inkreservoir and in the centre of the top plate of said machine. It isapparent, therefore, that when winding counter-clockwise the writingribbon I4 is inked as it goes away from theimpact point of the type withsaid writing ribbon.

of typing machines, the inking means '(pressure roller 34, rotary diskwith thin edge, said disk being 30 and said edge. 30a, inking roller 26,stationary'wick 25, the spring 38 and suitable driving connections orgears) may be located on the side of the ink belt or supply ribbon 20which is toward the platen and then the spools l2 and i3 may turn in theopposite direction. Or for very bold writing, the inking apparatus maybe locatedas shown in Fig. 1 and the spools i2 and I3 may turnclockwise.

The roller next to spool l2 and the roller next to spool i 3 areconstructed with projecting pins which fit into the perforations 42. Thepins ll are similar to the pins which fit into the perforations of amotion picture machine film and are for the same purpose, viz: to windvthe ink supply ribbon or belt step by step through the mechanism alwaystransferring ink therefrom 40 to a'face of said writing ribbon it duringthe operation of the machine. the geared rollers and the projecting pinsand a portion of said ink supply ribbon or belt car.-

rying ink on its surface, are illustrated in Fig. 2.

The construction-described has the advantage that .a line or lines ofink may be transferred from the ink supply ribbon to a face of a writingribbon, for a distance on said writing ribbon equal to the length of thespace on said ribbon which is marked by the type during the travel 1 ofsaid ribbon from one spool I! to the other spool I3- back and forthduring the operation of said typing machine, as efliciently as when.

theink supply ribbon interwinds with said writing ribbon, with very muchmore space in said spool l2 and spool l3- for writing. ribbon since the.endless belt form of ink supply ribbon makes it possible to fill thespool I! or spool l3 with writing ribbon alone, thereby adding verygreatly to the amount of writing which can be done by a" typing machinewithout touching the writing ribbonor turning it or renewing it, andalso thereby adding greatly to the amount of writing that maybe donefrom a multi-color ribbon in comparison with'the amount that can be donewhen the ribbons interwind. There is the additional advantage that ashort ink supply ribbon, which is'comparatively inexpensive, may be usedfor the life .of the machine. The endless belt or ink supply ribbon maybe made of very strong, fairly thick material, such as a metallicribbon, brass, copper, aluminum, steel, iron, or alloys of these or ofother metals, or it may be made of any of the materials described 7 inmy copending applicationsSerial No. 588,932,

preferred.

If it is desirable in certain types The geared spools,

August 16, 1932, or of any other materials Said ,beltor ink supplyribbon may have a fabric base impregnated or coated with cellulose estermaterial, or impregnated or coated with a starch solution or a gumsolution and then if desired it may be coated with cellulose estermaterial} or said belt or ink supply ribbon may be made of absorbentmaterial .or partially absorbent material of any suitable kind orcharacter for the required use. I may use a belt or ink supply ribbonwhich is entirely non-absorbent, or one which'has simply aninkimpervious surface on the outer side. The face which receives theline or lines of ink is preferably impervious to ink althoughnotnecessarily so. For fine writing of uniform appearance,

I week in and week out, month after month, it is of course absolutelynecessary to feed the ink to a face of a substantiallynon-ink-absorptive supply ribbon, or to a substantially non-inkabsorptive surface of a supply ribbon. A belt or supply ribbon which isperforated (either one line of perforations or more) and which movespositively step by step as the writing ribbon spools move step by stepduring the operation of the typingmachine, will pick up ink uniformlyfrom the thin edge of said disk 30 and will deliver it in even, uniformquantities to a face of said ribbon i4, and will continue to do thisduring the life of the fabric of said writing ribbon l4 so as to keepsaid ribbon uniformly inked. As said ink supply ribbon or belt travelsfrom said inking apparatus to either spool I! or to spool [3, saidribbon or belt may travel through guide channels shown in Fig. 6 as I 8and I9 which are secured to the inner, surface of a portion of said topplate. The'means for reversing said writing ribbon spools l2 and I3aredescribed and shown 'in great detail in my Patent 1,826,568 abovementioned. When spool l2 reverses and the writing ribbon H begins windin,o'n spool l2, the inking belt or ink supply rib on 20 at once isreversed too and starts travelling in the opposite direction. I preferto wind the spools I 2 and IS in such direction and .to locate theinking apparatus of Fig. 1 in such place that ink may be transferredfrom the ink supply ribbon and placed on a face of said writing ribbon Mas it comes away from the vibrator or ribbon guide 15. For certainclasses of writing I may employ an edge portion of a rotary disk forfeeding ink upon a face of said ink supply ribbon or belt which is .003to .004 of an inch in thickness, or for writing with picatype where Idesire a great deal of ink in each impression and desire plenty of inkto soak into the fibres of the writing paper itself so that erasures maybe difiicult to make, and so checks may be diflicult to raise, I mayemploy an edge portion which is .006 to .007- of an inch in thicknessand for writing with very large type or type such as is commonly calledbulletin type, I may employ an edge portion that is even thicker. If theedge portion is recessed or serrated, then the'edge portion may bethicker still. I do not limit myself in any way as to the thickness ofsaid edge portion but it is usually preferable to have same of lessthickness than the height of the type used in the typing mechanism. Theedge may be recessed so as to make a line or lines of fine dotsextremely close to each other, or short lines which look like shortdashes, equidistant apart 25 ribbon.

"30 may change.

may be made, or any other type of line or lines desired for the work inhand.

It has been my experience in using typing machines of the kind whereinthe writing ribbon .5 and ink supply ribbon interwind thatunless an inksupplyribbon which is extremely thin is used, the supply ribbon takes somuch space on the spool that it is impossible to use a very long writingribbon; also the ink supply ribbon has 10 to be slightly longer than thewriting ribbon at all times or the ribbons do not reverse promptly ywhen an end is reached. By using an endless belt such as hereindescribed, these and other difliculties are obviated. No matter if thebelt 15 or ink supply ribbon is. quite thick, it takes up no space onthe spool l2 or the spool l3 and there is an incentive to employ a verylarge spool for winding the writing ribbon now that the ink supplyribbon no longer has to be wound 20 up with said writing ribbon,especially since the only limitation upon the amount of even, uniformwriting possible with this type of machine is the lengt of the writingribbon and the durability of he fabric of saidwriting When the ink'supply ribbon is interwound with the writing ribbon, it is alsoextremely difficult to always keep the writing ribbon taut as during theuse of the writing ribbon and the ink supply ribbon, their relativelength Especially is this the case if an inferior ink supply ribbon isused. Another difflculty which arises when the ribbons interwind on thesame spool is due to the fact that when 5 the ribbons are new they windmuch tighter than 3 its surface mussed and worn, the fabric of thewriting ribbon becomes baggy and wavy and it does not wind tightly onthe spool and the ink 40 and often this results in reversing troublesdue to the writing ribbon not having the same relative length withrespect to the ink supply ribbon which is required for prompt reversingof the 45 reached. By using the endless belt and not interwinding withthe writing ribbon, all of these difficulties are swept aside at once.It is now a very easy, simple matter to lift a spool of writing.l'ibbOllOllt of the machine but when the ribbonsare interwound, it isslow and difficult and one has to be extremely'careful not to injure thevery thin, ink supply ribbon and not to get it twisted or broken. It isdifficult to permanently fasten a thin ink supply ribbon to the hub ofthe spool I2 or l3 so that it is certain to remain fastened securelyduring the life of the fabric of the writing ribbon. However, if oneuses anendless belt for an inksupply ribbon, it removes this additionaldifficulty automatically as said endless belt never has to be fastenedto any spool ofany kind at an end. or

otherwise. It is of inestimable value to get rid of all of thesedifficulties and at the same time 65 have the spool I! or I3 free forwriting ribbon. This endless belt maybe of an inch wide or as wide asthewriting ribbon or it maybe as wide as standard motion-picture fllm andmay be made of such material, or of kodaloid or cellu- 7o'loid orcellulose acetate or inflammable film, with one or more'series ofperforated holes for drawing it around step by step uniformly and soasto feed an even and uniform amount of ink to its surface and in turnto the surface" of 15 said writing ribbon. Any other suitable means whenthe writing ribbon has been used for a great deal of writing. As itbecomes worn and' supply ribbon accordingly cannot wind up tightlyspools when an end of the writingribbon for moving said endless beltor.ink supply ribbon may be used.

-In the construction shown in Fig. 3, I use the endless belt or inksupply ribbon but I do not actually contact said writing ribbon'ssurface with a surface of the endless belt or ink supply ribbon in orderto efi'ect a transfer of ink from the latter to the writing ribbon. In-

stead I place a rotary member between said writing ribbon's surface andthe surface of said ink supply ribbon. I dispense with the use of theposts 45 and the slots 46 of Fig. 4. The ro-,

tary member above mentioned may be a thin edged disk or any type ofrotary member which will uniformly and evenly transfer the ink, which isfed to it by the ink belt or ink supply ribbon, to the proper portionsof a face of said writing ribbon. While in said drawing (Fig 3) certainrotary members are shown, including two pressure rollersi? and 54 andthe rotary disk 53, I do not limit myself to this particular type ofmechanism for feeding ink from a surface of said ink supply ribbon to asurface of the writing ribbon.

The same inking apparatus and the same ink supply ribbon or inking belt(endless) may be used for the set-up shown in Fig. 3 as until thecorrect time which-is the time when the writing ribbon comes to an end.The two ribbons are of such length that they' may always reverse at thesame time and may travel in the same direction, and yet said ribbons donot interwind with each other. An end of said ink supply ribbon isfastened permanently to the hub of roller 60 near spool l2 and the otherend is ,fastened to the hub of roller 60 near spool IS.

The inking means for applying a line or lines of ink to' said ink supplyribbon is similar to that shown .in Figs. 4 and 6 above. Thisconstruction is an improvement over the construction whereby the inksupply ribbon interwinds with the writing ribbon.

,now employ a very fine writing ribbon which of itself is incapable ofcarrying much ink but by means. of the inking apparatus describedherein, this strong, durable writing ribbon may be utilized for a verylong period and ink transferred from a supply ribbon and distributedupon its face uniformly as it travels from spool to spool,

causes the ink content at all times to remain I justabout the same aswhen it was new'and unused and had just' been inked at the ink ribbonfactory. If 'a solid color ribbon be used for the .writing ribbon, it isonly reasonable after the upper edge portion of said ribbon becomes wornto place-,the lower edge above and rewind said ribbon toithis end andthen use said sixty yard ribbon again just as one would use a newribbon. This means a typing machine of. entirely new capacity for finewriting. Where the typingmachine used is one where the type con-.

tact with the said writing ribbons surface by pressure instead of bycutting impact and blows,

it is possible .tohtilize said 40 yard ribbon for a period of as much asfive years without chang- 5 ing said ribbon except to reverse its edges.

The present invention, even more than that of Patent 1,826,568, makes along fibre silk writing ribbon of even greater worth to the typist oroperator, of a. typing machine or mechanism of any I kind which employsan inked ribbon in making impressions on a surface. Just as I can add tothe durability of the writing ribbon and add to its lengthhave Idirectly increased the efiiciency of the present invention. But thepresent inven- 1 tion has the advantages of an ink supply ribbon forfeeding ink to the writing ribbon without the disadvantage of the abovepatent and application that said ink supply ribbon has to interwind withthe writing ribbon, thereby taking up a large and very valuable space inthe spool l2 or l3. The only limit as to quantity of writing ofsubstantially uniform, rich color and fine appearance is I that set bythe durability of the fabric which composes said ribbon.

As fully described and illustrated in the copending application No.588,932 filed January 26, 1932, the line or lines of ink can be readilytransferred to that portion (upper, lower, or any intermediate portion)of the writing ribbons surface which it is desired should receive theink, by simply raising or lowering the inking mechanism. In the case,for example, of a black and red ribbon used in combination withan inkreservoir and with an ink supply ribbon that is of material-- ly lesswidth than the writing ribbon, the ink res.- ervoir is raised to theproper height to feed the narrow ink supply ribbon well above the upperportion of thered ink portion of the writing ribbon.

It is readily apparent that the present invention provides a typewritercapable of a vastly increased amount of neat writing. The presentinvention also simplifies the manner of replacing a writing ribbonbecause the writing ribbon alone is wound on spools l2 and I3 andreadily may be removed from the machine.

It will, of course, be understood that the devices and apparatus andequipment described herein may be used on any typing or printingmechanism 60 or mechanisms employing type and a transfer member, whethersaid member is in the form. of

a ribbon, sheet, band, or any other form.

While the ink employed may be a liquid, yet it is to be understood thatany other transfer material which may be placed upon the edge of a diskor rotary member as needed, and in turn placed upon the surface of theink supply ribbon for transfer to the writing ribbon, may be employed.

In my United States Patent No. 1,826,568 (issued October 6, 1931) Idisclosed the idea of feeding ink from an ink pad by capillary actionacross the entire absorbent face of a supply ribbon which interwindswith a writing ribbon and again by capillary action feeds ink from itsentire face to 65 the writing ribbon. In the present application I havehereinabove disclosed the idea of a much more restricted feed of ink inthe form of a line of liquid ink which is fed to a substantiallynonink-absorptive surface of a supply ribbon. This ink may be fed in asolid line or a line made up of a series of dots or dashes. The allimportant thing is that the ink be not absorbed by the ink supply ribbonbut that it shall be on the surface for the very slight length of timeuntil it conta'cts with the writing ribbon which almost inwritingribbon,

which only said writingribbon is wound and. ,which contacts connectionsbetween the writing ribbon and the ing ink from said member which inturn transfers stantly absorbs it, leaving the surface of said supplyribbon substantially free of ink and ready to receive a new supply ofink for transfer to the writing ribbon. The supply ribbon, not beingable to absorb the ink, must transfer ink with a high degree of accuracyand precision, giving up to said writing ribbon the correct amount ofink to replenish the ink expelled in writing. This process may berepeated indefinitely until the writing ribbons fabric itself isconsiderably worn, thus insuring even appearance for the writing andmaking of the writing ribbon an important writing instrument which nolonger is required to carry more than a very slight reserve ink supply.

I claim as my invention 1. In a typing machine, the combination of awriting ribbon, an ink-supply ribbon in the form of an endless belt orband which receives ink from an ink reservoiror other ink supply in saidmachine. tosupply said ink to' saidwriting ribbon, and means for movingthe writing ribbon and the ink-supply ribbon.

2. In a typing machine, the combination. of a writing ribbon, and spoolson which the same is wound, means for moving said ribbon between thetype and the surface to be typed, an ink-supply ribbon, said writingribbon being wound on said spools independently of said ink supplyribbon, and an ink supply in a stationary wick for transfer to saidink-supply. ribbon and to said writing ribbon. o

3. In a typingmachine, the combination of a an ink supply ribbon, spoolson with said supply ribbon, driving ink supply ribbon spools, areservoir containing ink and containing at least a portion of an inkedwick, and means for feeding ink from. said inked wick to said supplyribbon and means for transferring ink to said writing ribbon.

4. In a typing machine, the combination of a writing ribbon and an inksupply ribbon, two sets of spools for winding a writing ribbon and anink supply ribbon, driving connections between a writing ribbon spooland an ink supply ribbon spool, an ink reservoir, and inking means forplacreservoir upon a surface of said ink supply ribbon for transferlater to a surface of said writing ribbon.

5. In a typing machine, the combination of a writing ribbon, a reservoiro'f'ink, a wick or-capillary member, an ink supply ribbon and means forapplying ink to a face or" said ink supply ribbon for transfer to asurface of an intermediate said ink toa face of said writing ribbon.

6. In a typing machine, the combination of a writing ribbon spool onwhich said writing ribbon alone is wound, a reservoir of ink, a wick orcapillary member, an ink supply ribbon and means for applying ink to aface of said ink sup a writing ribbon, at least onev inking apparatusand at least one end of said wick connected with said inking apparatus,and an ink supply ribbon" in the form of an endless band which receivesink from said wick; said writing ribbon winding on its own spools andsaid ink supply ribbon winding around smaller spools or rollers whichspools, geared spools and geared wheels or rollers v or rotary membersfor winding said writing rib- I bon and said ink-supply ribbon; at leastone gear of said spool meshing with at least one gear of said rotarymember or roller or wheel.

10. In a typingmechanism, the combination of a writing ribbon and an inksupply ribbon, said ribbons travelling in separate paths and having onlyshortlengths of both ribbons in contact at a time, and means for placingink on said supply ribbon for transfer to said writing ribbon. 11. In atyping mechanism, the combination of a writing ribbon, spools on whichsaid writing ribbon only is wound, an ink supply ribbon contacting onlywith portions of said writing ribbon which are exposed while being woundfr0m.one spool to another, and means for supplying ink to said supplyribbon for transfer to said writing ribbon. 12. Ina typing mechanism,the combination of a writing ribbon and an ink supply ribbon, means forguiding said ribbons in separate paths which meet only along a shortlength of said writing 5 ribbon, and means for applying ink to saidsupply ribbon for transfer to said writing ribbon at the meeting of saidribbons. i

13. In a typing mechanism, the combination of a writing ribbon, spoolson which said writing rib- 40 bon only is wound, an ink supply ribbon inthe form of an endless band, means for guiding said 'ribbons intocontact, and means for supplying ink to 'said supply ribbon for transferto said writing ribbon.

. 14. In a typing mechanism, the combination of a writing ribbon, spoolson whichsaid writing ribbon only is wound, means associated with saidtyping mechanism for-turning said spools to advance said ribbon, an inksupply ribbon having a short part only thereof in contact with a part ofsaid writing ribbon which is exposed. while being wound from one spoolto another, means for supplying ink to said supply ribbon for transferto said writing ribbon, and means for imparting motion to said supplyribbon from a spool.

15. In a typing mechanism, the combination of a writing ribbon and anink supply ribbon, separate means for imparting motion to each of saidribbons for moving the same in separate paths which meet at one or morepoints to bring said ribbons into contact, andmeans for supplying ink tosaid supply ribbon for transfer to said writing ribbon at the contactbetweensaid ribbons.

55 16. In a typing mechanism, the combination of a writing ribbon of lowink-carrying capacity and a substantially non-absorbent supply ribbon,'saidribbons travelling in separate paths and having only short lengthsof both ribbons in contact at a time, and means forplaci'ng ink on saidsupply ribbon for transfer to said writing ribbon and including areservoir for liquid ink.

17. In a typing mechanism, the combination of a thin silk writing ribbonof relatively low ink- '75 carrying capacityand an ink supply ribbon,said ribbons being guided in separate paths and having only shortlengths of said ribbons in contact at a time, an ink supply reservoirfor liquid ink, and means for placing ink from said reservoir on saidsupply ribbon for transfer to said writing ribbon. r

18. In a typing mechanism, the combination of a writing ribbon mademainly of long flbered silk, an ink supply ribbon of substantiallynon-absorptive material, spools on' which said writing ribbon is wound,means for guiding said ink supply ribbon into contact with such portionsonly of said writing ribbon which are exposed while being wound from onespool to another, and means for supplying ink to said supply ribbon.

19. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a writing ribbon,spools upon which said writing ribbon only is wound, an ink supplyribbon contacting only with portions of said writing ribbon which areexposed while being wound from one spool to another, means for supplyingink to said supply ribbon for transfer to said writing ribbon, and anink supply reservoir from which ink is supplied to said supply ribbon,and a wick for conducting ink from said reservoir.

20. In a typing mechanism, the combination of a a writing ribbon and anink supply ribbon, said ribbons travelling in separate paths and havingonly short lengths of ribbons in contact at a time,

a reservoir for liquid ink, a disk revolving in con-' tact' with saidsupply ribbon and receiving ink from said reservoir, and means actuatedby the movement of said writing ribbon for imparting movement to saidsupply ribbon.

21. In a typing mechanism, the combination of -21 writingribbon and anink supply ribbon, said ribbons travelling in separate paths and havingonly short lengths of ribbons in contact at a time, means actuated bysaid typing mechanism for advancing said writing ribbon to placedifferent portions thereof into printing position, means for actuatingsaid ink supply ribbon from the movement ofsaid writing ribbon, meansfor placing ink on said supply ribbon for transfer to said ,writingribbon, and means for driving said ink placing means from said supplyribbon.

22. In a typing mechanism, the combination of I a writing ribbon, spoolson which said writing ribbon only is wound, an ink supply ribbon in theform of an endless band, means for guiding said ribbons into contact,and a stationary wick from which ink is supplied to said supply ribbonfor transfer to said writing ribbon. I

23. In a typing mechanism, the combination of a writing ribbon and anink supply ribbon, a set of spools for each ribbon, means for guidingsaid ribbons into contact to transfer ink from said supply ribbon tosaid writing ribbon, an ink reservoir, and a stationary wick extendinginto said reservoir and from which ink is supplied to said supplyribbon. I I

24. In a typing mechanism, the combination of a writing ribbon and anink supply ribbon, a set of spools for each ribbon, means for guidingsaid ribbons into contact to transfer ink from said form of an endlessband, means for guiding said ribbons into contact, means for supplyingink to said supply ribbon, a. gear actuated by a ribbon spool, and agear meshing with said first menthe field of printing action of theprinting means,-

a pulley supported on a fixed axis and engaged and driven by saidnon-absorptive ribbon, an ink applying disk supported to rotate about anaxis parallel to the pulley axis and yieldingly urged toward said pulleyto contact one face of said non-absorptive ribbon at a point where theopposite face is in contact with said pulley, an ink reservoir below thelevel of said disk, a roller supported to rotate about an axis parallelto that of said pulley and disk and contacted at its I periphery by saiddisk, said pulley, disk and roller being rotatively driven by saidnon-absorptive ribbon, and a wick means extending into said reservoirfrom the periphery of said roller for conveying ink from the reservoirand applying a film of ink to the'periphery of the roller.

' 27. In a typewriter, the combination of a writing ribbon carrying asmall reserve supply of ink, an ink reservoir, a non-absorptive endlessink carrier ribbon having a surface adapted to contact with said writingribbon, and means for placing ink from said reservoir upon said surfaceof said writing ribbon. 28. In a typing machine, the combination of awriting ribbon, an ink reservoir, a substantially non-absorptive endlessink carrier ribbon, means 40 for placing ink from said reservoir upon asurface of said ink carrier ribbon in the form of at least one line, andmeans for transferring said, ink from said carrier ribbon to the upper,lower or any intermediate portion of a face of said writing .45 ribbon.

29." In a typing machine, the combination of a writing ribbon, an inkreservoir, a non-absorptive endlessink carrier ribbon having a surfaceadapted to contact with the writing ribbon and means having a rollingcontact with said supply ribbon and receiving ink from said reservoirand depositing it on said carrier ribbon.

30. In a typing machine, thecombination of a writing ribbon, an inkreservoir, a substantially non-ink-absorptive supply ribbon of celluloseacetate and means for placing ink from said reservoir upon a'face ofsaid supply ribbonfor transfer to said writing ribbon during operationof said machine.

66 31. In a typing mechanism, the combination of a writing ribbon, anink reservoir, a substantially non-ink-absorptive supply ribbonconsisting at ink carrier ribbon for transfer to a face of said least inpart of cellulose acetate and having a surface adapted to contact withsaid writing ribbon, and means for placing ink from said reservoir uponsaid surface of said ink supply ribbon for transfer to a face of saidwriting ribbon.

32. In a typing mechanism, the combination of an inked writing ribbon,an ink reservoir, a substantially non-ink-absorptive endless ink supplyribbon which is thinner than the said writing ribbon and having a faceadapted to contact with said writing ribbon, and means for placing inkfrom said reservoir upon said face of said supply ribbon for transfer toa face of said writing ribbon; said ink supply ribbon being uninked whenfirst put in service.

33. In a typing machine, the combination of a writing ribbon carryingthe optimum quantity of ink for the character of impression desired, asubstantially non-absorptive endless ink supply ribbon having at leastone smooth, even surface, the two ribbons contacting with each other, anink reservoir, and means for placing ink from said reservoir upon saidink supply ribbon in the right quantity to maintain the ink content ofthe writing ribbon substantially uniform and the same,

and means for moving said ribbons so as to transfer said ink from saidink supply ribbon to said.

writing ribbon continuously during use of said writing ribbon, inuniformly even quantities, said ink being transferred in the form of atleast one line, from the ink reservoir to the smooth surface of saidsupply ribbon.

34. In a printing machine, the combination of a printing-ribbonimpregnated with ink, a nonabsorptive endless ribbon adapted to receiveand transfer ink to said printing ribbon, means for causing an inkedside of the non-absorptive endless ribbon to contact progressively withthe printing ribbon, printing means coactive with the printing ribbon toform inked impressions, guiding means for the non-absorptive endlessribbon withholding the same from the field of printing action of theprinting means, a. pulley engaged and driven by said non-printingribbon, an ink supply disk supported to rotate about an axis parallel tothe pulley axis, yielding means for effecting relative movement of saidpulley and disk to urge one toward the other to cause said disk tocontact one face of said non-absorptive endless ribbon at a point wherethe opposite face .is in contact with said pulley, an ink reservoirbelow the level of said disk, a roller supported to rotate about an axisparallel-to that of'said pulley anddisk and contacted at its peripheryby said disk; said pulley, disk, and roller being rotatively driven bysaid non-absorptive endless ribbon, and a wick means extending into saidreservoir from the periphery of said roller for conveying ink from thereservoir and applying a film of ink to the periphery of the mile GEORGEE. 'PELTON.

